Happy New Year~! I think I'll be writing 2009 until well into March.
A sum up of events that I may or may not go back and write in detail.
Had fun looking at xmas lights after an impromptu taco dinner with Johnny, Aki, and Leon. Seeing a house with Winnie the Pooh Santa and Hello Kitty santa within 2 feet of each other was... an experience.
Christmas mass with Tami and Yoichiro in Ochanomizu was... nostalgic and kind of warped. Japanese xmas carols are different from American. The childrens choir was much the same. Felt good to try a Christmas service again, though I think I'll keep my faith to running thank you. Lunch with some of the attendies and the pastor was a bit over the top, but fun. A little disturbing to be the ONLY foreigner in that particular service, though there were many in the one following.
Christmas eve and Christmas day was work, though I went to Karaoke with Hyunah, Yuki, and Fang in a somewhat determined pitch to NOT spend xmas alone. It was fun, and I got home with enough time to watch Lorelei open presents at... 1AM
The 29-today was technically a vacation, so I hung out with Derek and Dai-chan. Was running late all week, but some things just can't be helped. Watching Kouhaku Utagassen on my phone while playing warcraft alone on NYE wasn't how I would have planned it, but that's the breaks. Next year, I will do balloons in Zoujouji by tokyo tower. Luckily the Osechi Ryori new years food Dai needed for her project showed up with no problems (thank god). Leon came over and the four of us made brownies and had an impromptu present opening while we had osechi and martinellis in the ultimate east meets west combo.
NY day was spent battling crowds at Meiji-jingu in Harajuku... which is kind of like Disneyland with the 70 minute wait to enter, but with no ride at the end, and you are lined up more like in a marathon. We went out the opposite end of the shrine and ended up wandering around on an adventure, eventually finding our way to Yoyogi station. Dai also got a little feral kitty lovin as one successfully managed to infiltrate her lap. Shinjuku Northern and Southern lights were nice too, but NOTHING is open on NY in this country... I swear.
2nd was a field trip to Kobe to meet up with Yumi. I had some adventures getting to the train and ended up hopping one behind D&D but still managed to catch up nonetheless. Cake with Yumi was nice and it was a relief to give her the bday present I have been holding on to. Dinner at the Bikkuri Donkey by Dai-chans and then whooshed to the hotel in Osaka next to the shady boarded up church with bums drinking on the steps and multiple televisions in the wall playing some shady televangelist program. The hotel was nice and cheap, and I may have to stay there again.
Kyoto was the next two days and a real pleasure for me. I miss it a lot and hearing kansai accent did much for my sanity. I may have to start taking trips there more often. We had more crowd adventures at Fushimi-Inari where I thanked the fox god for helping to shove my job in the right direction (just in case) and posted a prayer for Les' Success (took pictures for ya Les!). We got some amazing shots from the top of the mountain it is on too.
I got antsy to get home the second day so I left early for Tokyo, stood most of the way back, and got a call from my boss not 30 minutes after I got back asking me to come in today... despite it being a day off. Damn Americans. The shipment couldn't wait a day?
Which led me to an early morning laundry session, getting into work at about 11, and staying til about 4ish. Got to have lunch with Jo, the new gal out of the Singapore office everyone thought was a myth. I swear there were like four people there though. Ah well. Ended up reading since my internet connection didn't work for a chunk of that and I had to wait for FedEx.
SO. Weird happening today. I ended up getting in touch with one of my original host sisters, and a student I used to tutor (who was... 10? when I tutored her and is now in HS... FEELS OLD) somewhat randomly. Send a NY email and wasn't expecting a reply. I'm getting deja vu here.
Alas, blasts from the past will wait as work "starts" tomorrow in earnest.
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